Tuesday, 22 June 2010

So I've finally finished it; the thing just wouldn't lay down and die - first the panel was too small for my cushion pad so I needed to extend it - which involved dyeing more fabric - then it was a bit too big, which called for some tricksy sewing....and then I had to finish off the ends of the cords, and couldn't be bothered anymore to make tassles...so I decided to make organza flowers instead, and spent a frustrating half-hour before breakfast wondering why my embroidery hoop of organza kept jolting, until I realised I still had the feed dogs up - and this is to demonstrate machine embroidery skills to prospective students! Ho!

Here is one of the wretched organza flowers:

and here is some cable stitch writing (and a whippet paw) that only got cut off a little bit...(the writing not the paw):

All shamelessly Pam Watts-esque, as it woz her who taught me to do this stuff...

Monday, 21 June 2010

This is my displacement activity, because I should be finishing a panel for a machine embroidery taster sesh that I'm teaching on Wednesday. The idea is to demo the sorts of things you can do with machine embroidery, and I thought I would make a cushion rather than yet another sample book. Unfortunately, I don't seem able to finish it - just when I think I'm there, I realise something else needs doing. Now it is too SMALL for my cushion pad (cheapo salvaged from charity shop cushion, so size non-negotiable). As a result I have a cat litter tray full of wet turquoise, as I didn't have any suitable fabric to extend the sides of the panel without creating some myself. I will then do some cable stitch writing on it, something exciting like "machine embroidery techniques"...oh I'm full of imagination today...

Sunday, 13 June 2010

Finally got round to using our bucket barbeque to burn some sausages this evening. Someone had the genius idea to do our pudding (drop scones with butter and cinnamon sugar) on the barbeque by balancing the griddle pan on top, instead of standing by the stove being lonely. I may have ruined my non-stick, but it worked!

Friday, 11 June 2010

This is the other thing that has been occupying me of late: our summer house, finally lined and insulated a couple of weeks ago. I spent half-term wrestling with cans of expanding foam and tubs of filler and vats of paint, to finally create our quiet space.

We call it "Ti Izel", Breton for "low house" - because it's at the bottom of the garden. It is to be our quiet space - our space away from the house, a space to meditate, a space with

Thursday, 10 June 2010

I have been working. As in out to work, pacing the exam hall and looking fierce yet supportive. It's nice to have a sit down now.

I made myself Significant Birthday Cake no. 1 today. I used a recipe from the internet, tweaked to make it fit in my tins. It involved custard powder for some reason, which intrigued me. My butter was too firm, so I put it in the oven to "soften". Ten minutes later, I had ghee. I couldn't be bothered to wait for it to resolidify, so bunged it all in the food mixer after about half an hour. The cakes rose magnificently, then collapsed into sad heaps with droopy edges as they cooled. I cut into one just to "see" and wished I hadn't. The bin men come tomorrow.

Birthday Cake no. 2 has just emerged from the oven, replete with blueberries and lemonyness, and is looking like an altogether more hopeful start to my fifth decade...

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About Me

Collector of recipes, threads, fabrics, beads, pencils and paper – making sense of my world through cooking, reading, stitching and inventing new filing systems. I still haven't found the ultimate flapjack recipe...

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